


Final Masquerade

by LemonNinjaa



Category: Linkin Park
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-13 07:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2142489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonNinjaa/pseuds/LemonNinjaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the studio tracking vocals for Final Masquerade, Mike and Chester remember what it was like to be together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Final Masquerade

_“The light on the horizon was brighter yesterday…”_

Chester’s powerful voice was muffled by the walls of the vocal booth, but still audible to Mike, who was watching the vocalist while listening through headphones. _We always do this,_ he thought wistfully to himself. _We always write and record songs about the way we used to be… I guess if we couldn’t be forever then at least our memories can._ A tear slipped down his cheek as he recalled their past together. Flashbacks of sweet kisses, the dates they went on, sitting around and laughing together… Things were still so similar, but so very different now. They couldn’t kiss anymore, or hold hands, or whisper sweet nothings to each other. Sure, they could hug, but that was all…

“How was that, Mike?” Chester’s voice spoke into Mike’s ears through the headphones, startling him out of his reverie.

“Oh! Uh, it was great, as usual!” Mike tried to recover, but Chester knew him well enough to know that he hadn’t been paying attention.

“Mike, what’s the matter? I can tell you weren’t really listening…” The vocalist’s voice become concerned, peering at Mike through the glass of the vocal booth.

Mike sighed.

“Do you ever wish that we could have stayed together?” He asked softly.

Mike heard a sharp intake of breath and then a short silence before Chester spoke.

“Every day,” came the quiet confession. “I never wanted it to end. I wish it never did.”

Mike heard a sniffle, and he felt a pain in his chest. Silent tears were already running down his face and he could see Chester dabbing at his eyes with his sleeve.

“I always wonder, what if we had done something different? What if we had been more careful, or gave less information? Maybe then we could still be together…” Mike’s voice broke. “We were so perfect together, I wish we hadn’t been forced apart.”

“But we can’t go back now, Mike… We can’t keep on waiting for what we left behind.” The two of them smiled bitterly at each other, recognizing some of the words from the song Chester was in the middle of tracking. “We’re both married and have children now. At least we’re still in this together, we’re in this band together, and we’re making music together. Even though we can’t be together in that way anymore, at least we still have each other in every other way.”

“Yeah… I just feel like the best thing in my life was ripped away from me.” Mike became overwhelmed with emotion and the tears flowed faster. He looked down, clenching his fists in his lap. _I need to pull myself together, I’m making it so much harder for the both of us…_

He was startled by the flash of dark denim in his peripheral vision, and then he felt warmth surround him accompanied by the smell of Chester’s cologne.

“It’s okay, Mike,” Chester’s smooth voice whispered through tears. “We both know we’ll love each other forever, even though we had to move on. Sometimes the best things come from the greatest pain, right? We have this band, we have amazing fans, we did what we wanted to do! This is what we aimed for, years ago back in your apartment. We vowed we would do something with ourselves, and we did… We grew up together, and fell in love, and even though forces beyond our control split us apart, we will never truly be apart. I’m here with you, and you’re here with me. We’ll always be the closest of friends, brothers even, since we can’t be anything more. I love you, Mike, and I always will.”

Mike smiled sadly at Chester’s poignant words, and moved back to stare into the watery eyes of his soulmate. He cradled Chester’s face and wiped away the tears with his thumbs, relishing the feel of Chester’s soft skin.

“Yeah…” He murmured back sadly. “We’ll always be together, no matter what, even though we can’t _be_ together… I love you too, Chester, forever.”

They embraced again for a minute, before Chester moved back to the vocal booth. They both put on their headphones and wiped away the last of their tears. Sharing a nostalgic smile this time instead of bitter, Chester nodded his readiness to Mike, who started playing the emotional track.

Chester’s voice soared and dipped, crooning each note with so much more feeling than Mike had ever heard before. Mike could feel himself tearing up again at the sheer emotion emanating from the older man, and could see Chester’s eyes glossing over too. It was the most beautiful yet saddest thing Mike had ever heard the brunette sing.

_“We said it was forever, but then it slipped away… Standing at the end of the final masquerade…”_

“We said it was forever… We will be forever, even though we aren’t what we used to be,” Mike whispered to himself, echoing the words Chester had sung. “But as long as we’re together somehow, we’ll be okay.” 


End file.
